Presence Over Existing Cellular and Land-Line Telephone Networks

ABSTRACT

Presence information is received and processed at a base station from one or more wireless headsets or wireless telephones. The base station is coupled to a PSTN network or cellular network. The base station outputs a plurality of caller selectable options associated with the plurality of presence information to a far end caller and receives a far end caller selected option

RELATED APPLICATIONS

The present application is a divisional application of U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 11/895,055, filed Aug. 22, 2007, which is acontinuation-in-part application of U.S. patent application Ser. No.11/697,087, filed on Apr. 5, 2007, which claims priority to ProvisionalApplication No. 60/864,583, for “Headset-Derived Real-Time Presence andCommunication Systems and Methods” filed on Nov. 6, 2006, the entiredisclosures of which are incorporated herein by reference for allpurposes.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Generally, “presence” is the concept of providing others withinformation about a user's ability or willingness to communicate. In theprior art, the concept of using presence in communication systems isoften applied in instant messaging systems. Presence is also used inother network communication systems, such as the Microsoft UnifiedCommunication Service. However, these prior art systems rely on aconnection to a computer network to deliver presence information.

In many situations, a caller attempts to call someone using the standardpublic switched telephone network or a cellular network. In the priorart, such a caller has only limited information about who is availableto take a call, or their willingness to take it. The caller may not havethe proper equipment to connect to a network presence server, or anetwork presence server may not be available, or the person being calledmay not have a connection to a computer network to take advantage ofnetworked presence servers. Currently, when a caller makes a call over acellular or landline telephone network, either the call is answered bysomebody, the line is busy, no one answers the call, or an answeringmachine/voice mail answers the call.

As a result, there is a need for improved methods and apparatuses fordelivery of presence information over cellular and landline telephonenetworks.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The present invention will be readily understood by the followingdetailed description in conjunction with the accompanying drawings,wherein like reference numerals designate like structural elements.

FIG. 1 is a diagram of a headset-derived presence and communicationsystem, according to an embodiment of the present invention, in whichreal-time communications between users is performed over a local areanetwork (LAN);

FIG. 2 is a diagram of a headset-derived presence and communicationsystem, according to an embodiment of the present invention, in whichreal-time communications between users is performed over a wide areanetwork (WAN) such as, for example, the Internet;

FIG. 3 is a drawing illustrating how a linear accelerometer tri-axisangular rate sensor and associated microprocessor or microcontroller maybe employed to determine proximity of an intelligent headset to awireless base station, in accordance with an aspect of the presentinvention;

FIG. 4 is a drawing illustrating how an RFID transceiver and RFIDdetector may be employed to determine proximity of an intelligentheadset to a wireless base station, in accordance with an aspect of thepresent invention;

FIG. 5 is a drawing illustrating how RSSI may be employed to determineproximity of an intelligent headset to a wireless base station, inaccordance with an aspect of the present invention;

FIG. 6 is a drawing illustrating a client-server-based headset-derivedpresence and communication system, according to an embodiment of thepresent invention;

FIG. 7A is a drawing illustrating a first proximity and usage state inwhich the intelligent headset of the present invention is plugged into acharging cradle, in accordance with an aspect of the present invention;

FIG. 7B is a drawing illustrating a second proximity and usage state inwhich the intelligent headset of the present invention is within rangeof a BS or AP, and is being carried by a user (e.g., in a shirt pocketor around the user's neck), but is not being worn on the head of theuser (i.e., is not donned by the user), in accordance with an aspect ofthe present invention;

FIG. 7C is a drawing illustrating a third proximity and usage state inwhich the intelligent headset of the present invention is neither donnednor being carried, but is within range of a BS or AP, in accordance withan aspect of the present invention;

FIG. 7D is a drawing illustrating a fourth proximity and usage state inwhich the intelligent headset of the present invention is within rang ofa BS or AP and is donned by a user, in accordance with an aspect of thepresent invention;

FIG. 7E is a drawing illustrating a fifth proximity and usage state inwhich the intelligent headset of the present invention is turned off ora communication link between the headset and a BS or AP does not existor is not established;

FIG. 7F is a drawing illustrating a sixth proximity and usage state inwhich a user has shifted from communicating using the intelligentheadset to an alternate mode of communicating (e.g., by use of a cellphone or other mobile communications device);

FIG. 8 is a drawing illustrating a headset-derived presence andcommunication system having a plurality of overlapping multi-cell IEEE802.11 or 802.16 networks 800, in accordance with an embodiment of thepresent invention;

FIG. 9A is a drawing illustrating how a mobile computing device having areal-time communication and presence application may be configured tocommunicate proximity and usage state information of the intelligentheadset of the present invention over a cellular network and theInternet to other real-time communication users, in accordance with anembodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 9B is a drawing illustrating how a mobile computing device having areal-time communication and presence application may be configured tocommunicate proximity and usage state information of the headset over anIEEE 802.11 hotspot and the Internet to other real-time communicationusers, in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 10 is a flowchart illustrating an exemplary process by which thesystem in FIG. 6 operates to update the proximity and usage record of auser, according to an embodiment of the present invention; and

FIG. 11 is a flowchart illustrating an exemplary process by which thesystem in FIG. 6 routes an incoming IM based on the most up-to-dateproximity and usage record of a user, according to an embodiment of thepresent invention.

FIG. 12 is a block diagram of one embodiment of digital instantcommunication system 12-10.

FIG. 12A illustrates a diagram of a presence and communication system inone example of the invention, in which presence information is deliveredover a public switched telephone network (PSTN).

FIG. 13A illustrates a simplified block diagram of the hardwarecomponents of a base having a presence server in one example of theinvention.

FIG. 13B illustrates a simplified block diagram of the softwarecomponents of a base having a presence server in one example of theinvention.

FIG. 14A illustrates a simplified block diagram of the hardwarecomponents of a cordless phone handset in one example of the invention.

FIG. 14B illustrates a simplified block diagram of the softwarecomponents of a cordless phone handset in one example of the invention.

FIG. 15A illustrates a simplified block diagram of the hardwarecomponents of a wireless headset, in which the wireless headset is incommunication with a cordless phone handset.

FIG. 15B illustrates a simplified block diagram of the softwarecomponents of the wireless headset shown in FIG. 15A.

FIG. 16 illustrates a simplified block diagram of the hardwarecomponents of a wireless headset in one example of the invention, inwhich the wireless headset is in communication with a base having apresence server.

FIGS. 17A and 17B are a flowchart illustrating an exemplary process bywhich the system in FIG. 12A operates to gather and deliver presenceinformation over a public switched telephone network (PSTN), inaccordance with an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 18 illustrates a usage state in which a first user's phone andheadset are not worn and a second user's phone and headset are worn, inaccordance with an aspect of the invention.

FIG. 19 illustrates a diagram of a presence and communication system inone example of the invention, in which presence information is deliveredover a cellular network.

FIG. 20A illustrates a simplified block diagram of the hardwarecomponents of a cell phone or PDA having a presence server in oneexample of the invention, in which the cell phone or PDA utilizespresence sensors.

FIG. 20B illustrates a simplified block diagram of the softwarecomponents of a cell phone or PDA having a presence server in oneexample of the invention, in which the cell phone or PDA utilizespresence sensors.

FIG. 21A illustrates a simplified block diagram of the hardwarecomponents of a wireless headset, in which the wireless headset is incommunication with a cell phone or PDA.

FIG. 21B illustrates a simplified block diagram of the softwarecomponents of the wireless headset shown in FIG. 21A.

FIGS. 22A and 22B are a flowchart illustrating an exemplary process bywhich the system in FIG. 19 operates to gather and deliver presenceinformation over a cellular network, in accordance with an embodiment ofthe present invention.

FIG. 23 illustrates a usage state in which a user is away from theuser's PDA and not available for instant messaging, but is wearing hisheadset, in accordance with an aspect of the invention.

FIG. 24 illustrates a usage state in which an office phone base stationwith presence server is connected to a PBX.

FIG. 25 illustrates a usage state in which an office phone base stationis connected to a PBX with a presence server having a presenceapplication.

FIG. 26 illustrates a usage state in which an office access point isconnected to a PBX-IP gateway with presence server via an office IPnetwork.

FIG. 27 illustrates a usage state in which an office access point isconnected to a PBX-IP gateway via an office IP network.

DESCRIPTION OF SPECIFIC EMBODIMENTS

Methods and apparatuses for delivery of presence information overcellular and landline telephone networks are disclosed. The followingdescription is presented to enable any person skilled in the art to makeand use the invention. Descriptions of specific embodiments andapplications are provided only as examples and various modificationswill be readily apparent to those skilled in the art. The generalprinciples defined herein may be applied to other embodiments andapplications without departing from the spirit and scope of theinvention. Thus, the present invention is to be accorded the widestscope encompassing numerous alternatives, modifications and equivalentsconsistent with the principles and features disclosed herein. Forpurpose of clarity, details relating to technical material that is knownin the technical fields related to the invention have not been describedin detail so as not to unnecessarily obscure the present invention.

The invention relates to the general field of presence and wirelesscommunications devices such as headsets and handsets. In one example,this description describes a method and apparatus for providing presenceinformation over existing cellular or landline telephone networks.Presence information is provided to a local base station, which operatesas a presence server to provide the presence information in an audioformat to a caller. The base station is controllable by the caller usingDTMF tones. Typical presence information may include, for example,whether the user is wearing their headset, whether the user is near thebase station, and whether the user desires to be called. A security codemay be utilized in case it is desired to only pass presence informationto select callers.

For example, a caller connects to a modified PSTN base station in a homeusing a land-line or cell phone. Instead of ringing the entire house,the base station answers the call and provides voice prompts to theuser. The caller can query the base station for presence informationusing DTMF button presses on the caller's phone. Presence information isreceived from various cordless phones or headsets that members of thehousehold wear. After the caller hears the people available, the callerchooses the person he wants using an additional DTMF button press.

Presence information can also be delivered using just a cell phone orlandline phone and headset. In this example, the phone acts as thepresence server and gives information about the headset status andproximity of the user to the phone. This is particularly desirable forfrequent instant text messaging users. In this manner, users do not sendtext messages that they know will not be read. In a further example, thepresence information is sent to the caller using text messaging inaddition to voice audio.

The herein described methods and systems provide several advantages overthe prior art. Presence information is delivered over existing cellularor landline telephone networks. It allows presence to be delivered insituations where the technology available to the caller is lower thanthe technology available to the person being called. It also allows acaller to establish the status of a person being called withoutdisturbing the person. For example, for a caller wishing to determinethe status of an elderly person, presence information as well as medicalstatus can all be presented to an interested caller without constrainingor disturbing the elderly person. In another example, members of ahousehold are not disturbed by frequent calls to a single family member.

In one example of the invention, a method of reporting headset presencecharacteristics over a PSTN communications network includes receivingand processing at a base station a plurality of presence informationfrom one or more wireless headsets or wireless telephones, where thebase station is coupled to a PSTN network. A telephone call is receivedat the base station over the PSTN network from a far end caller. Aplurality of caller selectable options associated with the plurality ofpresence information is output from the base station to the far endcaller. A far end caller selected option is then received.

In one example of the invention, a communication system includes one ormore wireless headsets or wireless telephones and a telephone basecoupled to a PSTN network. The telephone base includes a presencemonitoring program adapted to receive and process presence informationassociated with the one or more wireless headsets or wirelesstelephones. The telephone base also includes a caller interactionprogram for communicating a plurality of user selectable optionsassociated with the presence information to a far end caller over thePSTN network, and responsively receiving and processing a far end callerselected option.

In one example of the invention, a method of reporting headset presencecharacteristics over a cellular communications network includesreceiving and processing at a computing device a plurality of presenceinformation from a wireless headset and the computing device, where thecomputing device is in a cellular communications network. The methodfurther includes receiving a telephone call at the computing device overthe cellular communications network from a far end caller. The methodfurther includes outputting from the computing device a plurality ofuser selectable options associated with the plurality of presenceinformation to the far end caller, and receiving a user selected optionfrom the far end caller.

In one example of the invention, a presence delivery system includes awireless headset having a first detector or sensor for gathering a firstplurality of presence information associated with the wireless headset.The presence delivery system also includes a computing device having afirst transceiver for wireless communications with the wireless headset,a second transceiver for wireless communications with a cellularcommunications network, and a second detector or sensor for gathering asecond plurality of presence information associated with the computingdevice. The computing device also includes a presence monitoring programadapted to receive and process the first plurality of presenceinformation associated with the wireless headset and the secondplurality of presence information associated with the computing device.The computing device further includes a caller interaction program forcommunicating a plurality of user selectable options associated with thefirst plurality of presence information and the second plurality ofpresence information to a far end caller over the cellularcommunications network, and responsively receiving and processing a farend caller selected option.

In one example of the invention, a communication system includes one ormore wireless headsets or wireless telephones, and a presence servercoupled to a PSTN network. The presence server includes a presencemonitoring program adapted to receive and process presence informationassociated with the one or more wireless headsets or wirelesstelephones. The presence server also includes a caller interactionprogram for communicating a plurality of user selectable optionsassociated with the presence information to a far end caller over thePSTN network and responsively receiving and processing a far end callerselected option.

In one example of the invention, a method of reporting headset presencecharacteristics over a PSTN or cellular communications network includesdetermining a headset usage state, generating presence information fromthe headset usage state, reporting the presence information to apresence server, and providing the presence information to a far endcaller connected to the presence server via a PSTN or cellular network.

Headset derived presence and communication systems and methods aredisclosed. A headset-derived presence and real-time communication systemmay include a client computer, a presence server, a headset and anoptional text-to-speech converter. The client computer may contain areal-time communications and presence application client. The headsetmay be adapted to provide proximity and usage information of the headsetto the client computer and real-time communications and presenceapplication client over a wired or wireless link. The presence servermay be coupled to the client computer, e.g., by way of a computernetwork, and may be adapted to manage and update a proximity and usagerecord of the headset, based on the proximity and usage informationprovided by the headset.

In a first aspect, a headset-derived presence and communication systemmay include a wireless headset and a computing device having a real-timemessaging program installed thereon coupled and wirelessly coupledthereto. The computing device and real-time messaging program may beadapted to receive and process headset usage characteristics of thewireless headset. The real-time messaging program may be an instantmessaging (IM) program, and/or a Voice Over Internet Protocol (VoIP)program. The computing device and real-time messaging program mayreceive and process proximity information characterizing a proximity ofthe headset to the computing device which may be determined by measuringstrengths of signals received by the headset or by the computing device.The headset may includes an accelerometer operable to measure theproximity information. The proximity information may also be determinedusing radio frequency identification (RFID). The wireless headset mayinclude a detector or sensor operable to determine whether the headsetis being worn on the head of a user and/or means may be provided fordetermining whether a user has shifted from using the headset tocommunicate to using an alternate mode of communicating.

The computing device may be a mobile computing device and may beconfigured within a computer network. Means may be provided forreporting presence information of a first user associated with theheadset to other real-time messaging users based on received headsetusage characteristics. A subsystem may be provided for signaling a userassociated with the wireless headset that a real-time message has beenreceived by the computing device. A converter may be provided forconverting a text-formatted real-time message received from a first userto a speech-formatted real-time message and/or for sending thespeech-formatted real-time message to a user associated with theheadset. The converter may convert voice signals of the headset userassociated to text-formatted real-time messages and send the formattedmessages to another user.

In another aspect, a wireless headset may include at least one headphoneand a wireless receiver coupled thereto and configured to receive asignal over a wireless link from a computing device or system adapted toexecute a real-time messaging system. The signal may indicate that areal-time message has been received by the computing device or system. Adetector or sensor in the headset may be configured to collect datacharacterizing proximity of the headset relative to the computing deviceor system. One or more such detectors or sensors may be operable todetermine whether the headset is being carried or has been put on ordonned by a user. A transducer in the headset may be configured toreceive the signal and generate a user-sensible signal that notifies theheadset user that the real-time message has been received by thecomputing device or system.

The real-time messaging system may be a text-based instant messagingsystem and the message may be a text-based instant message. Atext-to-speech converter may be operable to convert the text-basedinstant message to a speech-based signal, and the wireless receiver ofthe headset may be adapted to receive the speech-based signals and togenerate audible or acoustic signals for the headset user. The real-timemessaging system may be a Voice Over Internet Protocol (VoIP) system andthe headset may be adapted to receive VoIP messages over a wireless linkfrom the computing device or system. A shift detector may be providedfor determining whether a user has shifted from communicating with thecomputing device or system by using the headset to communicate usingsome other mode of communication by, for example, communicating using amobile device. The computing device may be a mobile computing device.

In another aspect, a method of reporting headset usage characteristicsof a wireless headset to a first computing device or system adapted toreceive real-time messages from a second computing device system mayinclude determining whether the wireless headset is within range of abase station coupled to the computing device or system and/or is withinrange of an access point configured to communicate with the firstcomputing device or system, determining a headset usage characteristicand reporting the determined headset usage characteristic to the basestation or access point. The reported headset usage characteristic maybe used to generate a headset usage record which indicates whether theheadset is donned or not donned by the user. Presence information may begenerated or sent to the second computing device or system based on theheadset usage record prior to, after or during a time when a real-timemessage is received by the first computing device or system from thesecond computing device or system. Whether the user has shifted fromcommunicating using the wireless headset to an alternate mode ofcommunicating may be determined. A headset usage record may be generatedin the first computing device system indicating that the user hasshifted from communicating using the wireless headset to the alternatemode of communicating, if it is determined that the user has shifted tothe alternate mode of communicating for example the use of a mobiledevice that communicates over a cellular or other wired or wirelessnetwork.

Sending presence information to the second computing device or systemmay be based on the headset usage record by, for example, converting asignal generated by the alternate mode of communicating to data packetswith a compatible protocol communicated over a packet-switched networkto the first computing device or system and generating the headset usagerecord using the data packets. A real-time message communicated from thesecond computing device or system to the first computing device orsystem may be a text-based instant message (IM) which may be convertedto a speech-based acoustic signal for the headset user and/or may be aVoice Over Internet Protocol (VoIP) message. A user-sensible headsetsignal may be generated in response to the first computing device orsystem receiving a real-time message from the second computing devicesystem and the first computing device may be a mobile computing device.Access to the first computing device or system may be unlocked if it isdetermined that the wireless headset is within range of a base stationcoupled to the first computing device or system or within range of anaccess point configured to communicate with the first computing devicesystem.

In another aspect, a method of communicating in real-time may includedetermining a usage state of a communication headset associated with afirst real-time messaging member, generating presence information usingthe determined usage state and communicating the presence information toother real-time messaging members. The determined usage state may becommunicated to a computing device associated with the communicationheadset and may include an indication whether the communication headsetis donned or is not donned by the first real-time messaging memberand/or whether the communications headset is being carried by the firstreal-time messaging member and/or whether the communication headset isplugged into a charging cradle and/or whether the communication headsetis not being used by the first real-time messaging member and/or is notreadily accessible by the first real-time messaging member and/orwhether the first real-time messaging member has shifted from using thecommunication headset to communicate to using an alternate mode ofcommunicating, such as by using a mobile device.

The proximity of the communication headset to a computing deviceconfigured to communicate with the communication headset may bedetermined by using the determined proximity to generate the presenceinformation. A signal characterizing the usage state may be transmittedto a computing device or system adapted to communicate in a real-timemessaging system over at least one wired or wireless network which maybe a cellular telephone network and/or a packet-switched network and/orIEEE 802.11 or 802.16 network or over a wireless link, such as aBluetooth link. The computing device may be a mobile computing device. Auser-sensible headset signal may be generated when the real-timemessaging member receives a real-time message from one of the otherreal-time messaging members. The real-time message may be atext-formatted message or a voice-formatted message converted from atext-based message and/or a Voice Over Internet Protocol (VoIP) message.

In a further aspect, a computer-readable storage medium containinginstructions for controlling a computer system to generate presenceinformation based on one or more usage states of a communication headsetmay include receiving usage data characterizing the use of acommunication headset by a real-time messaging user associated with theheadset. The usage data may be used to generate presence information ina real-time messaging system such as whether the real-time messaginguser associated with the headset is carrying or donning thecommunication headset and/or has shifted from using the communicationheadset to an alternate mode of communicating, such as by using a mobiledevice. The real-time messaging system may be an instant messaging (IM)system or a Voice Over Internet Protocol (VoIP) system.

In a still further aspect, a headset-derived presence and real-timemessaging communication system may include a computing device, having areal-time messaging application program installed thereon, and adaptedto receive usage information of a communication headset associated witha real-time messaging user and a presence server coupled to thecomputing device and adapted to manage and update a usage record of thecommunication headset based on usage information provided by thecommunication headset. The usage information may characterize whetherthe communication headset is donned or being carried by the real-timemessaging user and/or whether the real-time messaging user has shiftedfrom communicating using the headset to using an alternate mode ofcommunicating. A proximity detector may determine proximity of theheadset to the computing device. The presence server may be operable toprovide presence information of the user to other real-time messagingusers based on the usage record. A text-to-speech converter may beoperable to convert text-formatted real-time messages tospeech-formatted messages which may be transmitted to the communicationheadset over a wired or wireless link.

According to one exemplary embodiment, a headset-derived presence andreal-time communication system includes a client computer, a presenceserver, an intelligent headset, and an optional text-to-speechconverter. The client computer (e.g., a personal computer (PC) or mobilecomputing device such as a smart phone) contains a real-timecommunication (e.g., IM or VoIP) and presence application client. Theintelligent headset is adapted to provide proximity and usageinformation of the headset to the client computer or mobile computingdevice and the real-time communication and presence application clientover a wireless or wired link. The presence server is coupled to theclient computer or mobile computing device (e.g., by way of a computernetwork), and is adapted to manage and update a proximity and usagerecord of the headset based on the proximity and usage informationprovided by the headset.

The proximity and usage record of the intelligent headset includes, butis not necessarily limited to: the proximity (e.g., location orconnection state) of the headset to the client computer; whether theheadset is turned on or off, whether the headset is donned by a user,whether the headset is being carried by the user; whether the headset issimply sitting on a desk or other surface; whether the user has “shiftedpresence” (i.e., whether the user has shifted from communicating usingthe headset to using an alternate mode of communicating (e.g., to use amobile device such as a cell phone)), whether the headset is not beingused by the user or is not readily accessible by the user; and whetherthe headset is plugged into a charging cradle or adapter. As will beexplained in detail below, the proximity and usage record on thepresence server is updated manually or automatically through thereal-time communication and presence application client on the clientcomputer when the proximity and/or usage state of the headset changes.

The proximity and usage state record may be used to determine the mostappropriate mode for a real-time messaging user to initiate a real-timecommunication session with a user associated with the headset. If theproximity and usage record indicates that the user is using, carrying,donning or may have access to the headset, the system sends auser-sensible signal to the headset, in response to a real-time messagereceived by the system. If the real-time communication comprises an IMin text form, the IM may be converted to speech using an optionaltext-to-speech converter. The system then transmits the real-timecommunication or speech converted IM over a wired or wireless link tothe headset, so that the headset user may listen to the real-timecommunication or speech-converted IM. If the proximity and usage recordindicates that the user associated with the headset has shifted fromcommunicating using the headset to using an alternate mode ofcommunicating, the system informs other real-time communication usersthat the user associated with the headset is not available for real-timemessaging at the client computer, but that the user may be reached usingthe alternate mode of communicating.

Referring now to FIG. 1, there is shown a headset-derived presence andcommunication system 10, in accordance with an embodiment of the presentinvention. While the term “presence” has various meanings andconnotations, the term “presence” is used herein to refer to a user'swillingness, availability and/or unavailability to participate inreal-time communications and/or means by which the user is currentlycapable or incapable of engaging in real-time communications.

The headset-derived presence and communication system 10 comprises afirst computer 100 having a real-time communication (e.g., instantmessaging (IM) and presence application 102 installed thereon, a basestation (BS) 104 coupled to the first computer 100, a second computer106 having a real-time communication (e.g., other instance of thereal-time communication and presence application 102) installed thereon,and an intelligent headset 110 adapted to be worn by a user 112. Forpurposes of this disclosure, the term “headset” is meant to includeeither a single headphone (i.e., monaural headset) or a pair ofheadphones (i.e., binaural headset), which include or do not include,depending on the application and/or user-preference, a microphone thatenables two-way communication.

The real-time communication and presence application 102 on the firstcomputer 100 is configured to receive real-time communications (e.g.,IMs) from, and send instant messages to, the second computer 106 over acommunication network. According to one aspect of the invention, asshown in FIG. 1, the network comprises a local area network (LAN) 108such as, for example, a business enterprise network. According toanother embodiment, as shown in FIG. 2, the network comprises a widearea network (WAN) such as, for example, the Internet 208.

According to one embodiment of the invention, the intelligent headset110 comprises a wireless headset that includes an RF transceiver whichis operable to communicate proximity and usage information of theintelligent headset 110 back to the BS 104 via a first wireless link(e.g., a Bluetooth link or a Wi-Fi (IEEE 802.11) link) 114. A second RFtransceiver may also be configured within the headset 110 to communicateover a second wireless link (e.g., a second Bluetooth link) 115 with amobile device 116 (e.g., a cell phone) being carried by the user 112.

Proximity of the intelligent headset 110 relative to the BS 104 can beperformed in various ways. For example, as shown in FIG. 3, the headset110 may be configured to include a tri-axis linear accelerometer and/ortri-axis angular rate sensor 300 controlled by a microcontroller ormicroprocessor. The tri-axis linear accelerometer and/or tri-axisangular rate sensor 300 are configured to operate as an inertialnavigation system (INS), which provides proximity or locationinformation of the headset 110 relative to the BS 104. The rate sensorprovides information concerning the orientation of the headset 110 withrespect to its inertial frame, and the accelerometer providesinformation about accelerations of the inertial frame itself. Inparticular, as the orientation of the headset 110 changes, theaccelerometer detects changes due to gravity acting on the differentaxes. By computing the orientation (i.e., monitoring changes in rotationon the rate sensor), the actual acceleration can be determined.According to an alternative method, two tri-axial accelerometers havinga fixed separation in space, and attached to the headset 110, are usedto clarify orientation of the headset 110. Rotations about the centercan be detected by differential readings in the two accelerometers, andlinear translation is indicated by a common mode signal. While any ofvarious rate sensors and accelerometers may be employed, an NEC/TokinCG-L53 or Murata ENC-03 integrated piezoelectric ceramic gyros may beused to implement the rate sensor, and a Kionix KXPA4-2050 integratedmicro-machined silicon accelerometer may be used to implement thetri-axis accelerometer.

By performing multiple integrations of measured acceleration of theheadset 110 when the user 112 is wearing or carrying the headset 110,the position or proximity of the headset 110 and user 112 can beestablished and communicated back to the BS 104 over the first wirelesslink 114. To accurately track the proximity of the headset 110 and user112 to the BS 104, a frame of reference defining an initial location ofthe headset 110 can be established by transmitting a signal from the RFtransceiver of the headset 110 to the BS 104 during times when the user112 is determined to be interacting with the first computer 100, forexample. After calibrating the initial location and the headset 110 isput into motion, the accelerometer commences integration. Informationfrom the integration process is transmitted by the RF transceiver of theheadset 110 to the BS 104 for use by the real-time communication andpresence application 102 to determine base proximity.

In an alternative embodiment, shown in FIG. 4, a radio frequencyidentification (RFID) transceiver 400 is provided, and the headset 110is configured to include an RFID detector 402. The RFID transceiver 400is operable to broadcast an RFID band signal (e.g., 13.56 MHz)containing a constant repetition of a coded ID over an RFID link 404.The RFID detector 402 is associated with the RFID transceiver 400 bystoring the ID when at close range. Once properly associated andauthenticated to the RF transceiver 400, the RFID detector 402 measuresthe field strength received from the RF transceiver 400. The measuredfield strength is then reported back to the RFID transceiver 400 andreal-time communication and presence application 102, via the wirelesslink 114, to provide data that can be used to estimate the proximity ofthe headset 110 to the RFID transceiver 400.

In yet another embodiment, shown in FIG. 5, the received signal strengthindicator (RSSI) of the wireless link 114 is measured and monitored todetermine the proximity of the headset 110 from the BS 104. An advantageof this approach is that no additional circuitry, other than the RFcircuitry in the headset is required. The RSSI can be measured andmonitored either at the headset 110 or at the headset BS 104. Ifmeasured and monitored at the BS 104, the headset 110 can be configuredto query the BS 104 as to what the RSSI is. Then, the RSSI, togetherwith known transmit power, allows base proximity to be determined.

The intelligent headset 110 may be further configured to include aproximity and usage application and an associated microprocessor-based(or microcontroller-based) subsystem. The headset proximity and usageapplication and microprocessor-based subsystem provide proximity andusage characteristics of the headset 110 and/or user 112 to theheadset's RF transceiver, which reports the proximity and usagecharacteristics to the real-time communication and presence application102. The proximity and usage characteristics may be reported on ascheduled basis (e.g., periodically), in response to changes in thecharacteristics of the wireless link 114, in response to detectedmovement or wearage state of the headset 110, by the user pushing abutton on the headset, or by any other suitable means.

The real-time communication and presence application 102 described inFIGS. 1 and 2 above comprises a stand alone computer program configuredto execute on a dedicated computer 100. In an alternative embodiment,the real-time communication and presence application is adapted tooperate as a client program, which communicates with real-timecommunication and presence servers configured in a client-server networkenvironment.

FIG. 6 shows an exemplary client-server-based headset-derived presenceand communication system 60, according to an embodiment of the presentinvention. The system 60 comprises a LAN server 600, a real-timecommunication server 602, a presence server 604, a plurality of clientcomputers 606-1, 606-2, . . . , 606-N (where N is an integer greaterthan or equal to one), a real-time communication and presenceapplication client 608 installed on one or more of the client computers606-1, 606-2, . . . , 606-N, an optional text-to-speech converter 609,an intelligent headset 110, and a wireless BS 610. The BS 610 isconfigured to receive proximity and usage characteristics of the headset110 and/or user 112 over a wireless (as shown) or wireless link 612. Thereal-time communication and presence application client 608 communicatesthe received proximity and usage information to the LAN server 600. TheLAN server 600 relays the received information to the presence server604, which is configured to store an updatable record of the proximityand usage state of the headset 110. The real-time communication andpresence servers 602, 604 use the proximity and usage state record togenerate and report presence information of the user 112, or a “shift”in presence status of the user 112, to other system users, for exampleto a user stationed at the remote computer 616. As explained in moredetail below, a “shift” in presence status provides an indication thatthe user 112 has shifted from one mode of communication to another(e.g., from IM to a mobile device 116 such as a cell phone, personaldigital assistant (PDA), handheld computer, etc.).

The real-time communication and presence servers 602, 604 are alsooperable to signal the real-time communication and presence applicationclient 608 on the client computer 606-1 that a real-time communication(e.g., an IM or VoIP call) has been received from the remote computer616. The real-time communication and presence application client 608 canrespond to this signal in a number of ways, depending on which one ofvarious proximity and usage states the intelligent headset 110 is in.

FIG. 7A shows a first proximity and usage state in which the intelligentheadset 110 is plugged into a charging cradle 700 coupled to the clientcomputer 606-1. When in this proximity and usage state, the presenceserver 604 is configured to store a proximity and usage recordindicating that the headset 110 is plugged into the charging cradle 700.The proximity and usage record is referenced by the LAN server 600 toreport to other system users that it is unknown whether the user 112 isavailable to accept real-time communications at the client computer606-1. Nevertheless, if a real-time communication is received while theheadset 110 is in this state, the real-time communication may bedisplayed as text on the display screen of the client computer 606-1 oraudibilized as sound through the sound system of the client computer606-1. Additionally (or alternatively), the real-time communication andpresence application client 608 may send an alert signal, via the wiredor wireless link 612, to an acoustic transducer (e.g., a speaker),vibrating mechanism, or other user-sensible signaling mechanismconfigured within or on the intelligent headset 110 (e.g., a flashinglight-emitting diode (LED)), in an attempt to signal the user 112 thatthe real-time communication has been received. If the user 112 happensto be stationed at or near the client computer 606-1, the user 112 maythen either ignore the real-time communication or reply to it.

FIG. 7B shows a second proximity and usage state in which the headset110 is within range of the BS 610, and is being carried by the user 112(e.g., in a shirt pocket or around the user's neck), but is not beingworn on the head of the user 112 (i.e., headset is “undonned”). Thereare various types of sensors and detectors which can be employed todetermine whether the headset 110 is donned or undonned and whether theheadset is being carried. For example, an accelerometer, such as thatdescribed in FIG. 3 above, may be used to determine whether the headset100 is being carried. Other motion detection techniques may also be usedfor this purpose. Some techniques that can be used to determine whetherthe headset is donned or undonned include, but are not limited to,utilizing one or more of the following sensors and detectors integratedin the headset 110 and/or disposed on or within one or more of theheadphones of the headset 110: thermal or infrared sensor, skinresistivity sensor, capacitive touch sensor, inductive proximity sensor,magnetic sensor, piezoelectric-based sensor, and motion detector.Further details regarding these sensors and detectors can be found inthe commonly assigned and co-pending U.S. patent application entitled“Donned and Doffed Headset State Detection” (Attorney Docket No.:01-7308), which was filed on Oct. 2, 2006, and which is herebyincorporated into this disclosure by reference.

FIG. 7C shows a third proximity and usage state in which the headset isneither donned nor being carried, but is within range of the BS 610.This proximity and usage state may occur, for example, if the headset islying on a desk or table 702 (as shown in FIG. 7C), yet is powered onand within range of the BS 610.

When a real-time communication is received while the proximity and usagerecord of the presence server 604 indicates that the headset 110 is inone of the proximity and usage states shown in FIGS. 7A-C, the real-timecommunication and presence servers 602, 604 signal the real-timecommunication and presence application client 608 on the client computer606-1 to transmit an alert to the RF transceiver of the headset 110, viathe BS 610. An acoustic transducer (e.g., a speaker), vibratingmechanism, or other user-sensible signaling mechanism (e.g., a flashingLED) configured within or on the headset 110 is then triggered, in anattempt to signal the user 112 of the incoming real-time communication,thereby prompting the user 112 to don the headset 110. If available, theuser 112 may respond to the alert by first donning the headset 110 andthen pushing a button on the headset 110 or verbalizing a command, toreceive an identification of the real-time communication initiator or avoice-converted message derived from the real-time communicationmessage.

FIG. 7D shows a fourth proximity and usage state in which theintelligent headset 110 is within range of the BS 610 and is donned bythe user 112. The intelligent headset 110 determines that the headset110 is donned, for example, as described in the commonly assigned andco-pending patent application entitled “Donned and Doffed Headset StateDetection” incorporated by reference above, and reports the usage stateto the real-time communication and presence application client 608. Uponreceipt of a real-time communication, the real-time communication andpresence servers 602, 604 signal the real-time communication andpresence application client 608 to send an alert signal over the link612, which is used by a transducer in the headset 110 to cause theheadset 110 to vibrate, generate an audible tone, or provide some otherform of user-sensible signal. The user 112 may respond to the alert bypushing a button on the headset 110 or verbalizing a command to receivean identification of the real-time communication initiator or avoice-converted message derived from the real-time communicationmessage. The headset 110 may be alternatively (or also) equipped with asmall display screen to display the identity of the real-timecommunication initiator and/or the real-time communication itself. Theuser 112 can then use the alert signal, audible and/or visualinformation to determine whether to respond to the real-timecommunication.

FIG. 7E shows a fifth proximity and usage state in which the headset 110is either turned off or a communication link between the headset 110 andthe base station 610 does not exist. When in this proximity and usagestate, other system users are alerted that the user 112 is not using theheadset 110 but may be available to communicate using traditional IM.Accordingly, incoming IMs are routed by the real-time communicationserver 602 the client computer 606-1 similar to as is done inconventional IM systems.

FIG. 7F shows a sixth proximity and usage state in which the intelligentheadset 110 is powered on and is being carried or donned by the user112, but the user has shifted from communicating using the intelligentheadset to an alternate mode of communicating (e.g., by use of a cellphone or other mobile communications device). For the purpose of thisdisclosure, the wireless link 612 between the transceiver of the headset110 and the BS 610 is considered to be “out of range” when the link 612is completely broken or when a signal strength of a specified signalfalls below some predetermined threshold. The headset 110 may be out ofrange for any number of reasons. For example, in a business environment,as the user 112 leaves their office (e.g., to go to a meeting, thebathroom, lunch, etc.), signals communicated over the wireless link 612will eventually diminish in strength due to the transceiver of theheadset 110 becoming farther away from the BS 610. Once the real-timecommunication and presence application client 608 determines that theheadset 110 is out of range of the BS 610, the real-time communicationand presence application client 608 reports this change in proximity andusage state to the presence server 604, which updates its proximity andusage records accordingly. The LAN server 600 may then use this updatedproximity and usage record to notify other system users (e.g., a userstationed at the remote computer 616) that the user 112 is unavailableto reply to real-time communications delivered to the client computer606-1 and/or that the user 112 may have shifted presence to the mobiledevice 116.

As alluded to above, at times the user 112 may shift presence from usingthe headset 110 to communicate to using some other mode of communication(e.g., a mobile device 116 such as a cell phone). When such an eventoccurs, the presence server 604 is updated to indicate this shift inpresence status. According to one embodiment of the invention, themobile device 116 is configured to transmit a “shifted presence signal”to an operating center of a cellular network or other wireless network702 having Internet access. The operating center converts the shiftedpresence signal into Internet compatible data packets, which are sentover the Internet to the LAN server 600. The LAN server 600 thenforwards the shifted presence information contained in the received datapackets to the presence server 604, which updates its proximity andusage record of the user 112 accordingly. Other system users will thenbe notified of the user's 112 shifted presence status, thereby allowingthem an opportunity to contact the user 112 via the alternate mode ofcommunicating, and without having to wastefully send a message that theuser 112 is unavailable or unable to respond to.

According to one aspect of the invention, control or communicationssignals received by the Internet accessible cellular network 702 areused to generate Internet compatible data packets characterizing theshifted presence signal. The Internet compatible data packets arecommunicated to the presence server 604 to indicate the shifted presencestate of the user 112. According to one embodiment, the user 112 isrequired to proactively notify a shift in presence by, for example,sending a text message (or other signal) from the mobile device 116 tothe Internet accessible cellular network 702. A converter in thecellular network infrastructure (e.g., at a network operating center ofthe cellular network) converts the text message to IP compatible datapackets and transmits the IP compatible data packets to the IP addressassociated with the LAN server 600. The LAN server 600 then communicatesthe IP compatible data packets to the presence server 604, which updatesits proximity and usage record of the user 112 to indicate the user'sshifted presence state.

According to another embodiment, the headset 110 is configured totrigger the sending of the shifted presence signal based on, forexample, the strength of signals communicated over the wireless link612, or on a signal received by the headset 110 over the second wirelesslink 115 indicating that the mobile device 116 is being used. When thesignal strength of a specified signal communicated between the headset110 and the BS 610 breaks or falls below some predetermined threshold,or the headset 110 receives a signal indicating that the mobile device116 is being used, the headset 110 sends a trigger signal to the mobiledevice 116, e.g., via the local second wireless link 115. The mobiledevice 116 responds to the trigger signal by generating and transmittinga shifted presence signal, which is received by an operating center ofan Internet accessible cellular network 702. IP compatible data packetscharacterizing the shifted presence signal are communicated over theInternet from the operating center to the LAN server 600 of the system60, in a manner similar to that described above. The presence server 604updates it proximity and usage record according to the shifted presenceinformation contained in the data packets to reflect the shiftedpresence status of the user 112.

Data characterizing the various proximity and usage states describedabove, including whether the user has shifted presence from using theheadset 110 to another mode of communication, may be communicated backto the presence server 604 at any time (e.g., prior to, during orfollowing receipt of a real-time communication), to ensure that thepresence server 604 has the most up-to-date proximity and usage recordof the user 112 and/or headset 110. Updating the proximity and usagerecord of the user 112 and/or headset 110 may be initiated manually bythe user 112 (e.g., by pushing a button on the headset 110), in responseto some physical or operational characteristic of the headset 110 (e.g.,movement or donning the headset 110), or automatically according to apredetermined reporting and update schedule. The most up-to-dateproximity and usage record is then used by the real-time communicationand presence servers 602, 604 to generate presence status signals, whichare used by real-time communication application clients on other user'scomputers to display the most up-to-date presence status of the user112.

While the exemplary embodiments above have been described in the contextof point-to-point wireless communications, the systems and methods ofthe present invention can also be adapted to operate in otherenvironments not requiring a point-to-point wireless connection. FIG. 8shows, for example, a headset-derived presence and communication system80 having a plurality of overlapping multi-cell IEEE 802.11 networks800, in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.Operation is similar to that described above in FIG. 6, except that theheadset 110 is not required to communicate point-to-point to a dedicatedBS 610. Rather, a plurality of access points (APs) 802 are madeavailable to receive proximity and usage information of the headset 110and to send and receive real-time communications to and from the headset110 over wireless links. The RF transceiver in the headset 110 isadapted to establish the best possible connection with one of theplurality of APs 802. The overlapping cells 800 allow the user 112 toroam between the overlapping cells 800 and constantly maintain thewireless connection 804. Real-time communication sessions can also bemaintained and proximity and usage information of the headset 110reported while moving from cell to cell. The coverage area is limitedonly by the number of cells. One advantage of this approach is that theplurality of APs 802 can extend the coverage to much larger areas, e.g.,an entire building or work campus, than can the point-to-point approach.While the headset-derived presence and communication system 80 is shownin the context of a plurality of overlapping IEEE 802.11 cells 800,those of ordinary skill in the art will readily appreciate andunderstand that other types of overlapping multi-cell technologies couldalternatively be used (e.g. 802.16 MAN, cellular, and DECT networks).

The exemplary embodiments described above include a fixed computingdevice (e.g., computer 100 in FIGS. 1 and 2) configured to execute areal-time communication and presence application 102 and a fixedcomputing device (e.g., client computer in FIGS. 6 and 8) configured toexecute a real-time communication and presence application client 608.According to another embodiment of the invention, a mobile computingdevice (e.g., a smart phone, personal digital assistant (PDA), laptopcomputer, etc.) is configured to include a real-time communication andpresence application or client. For example, FIG. 9A illustrates how amobile computing device 900 having a real-time communication andpresence application 902 may be configured to communicate proximity andusage state information of the headset 110 and/or user 112 over acellular network 904 and the Internet 906 to other system users. Acommunication link (e.g., a Bluetooth link) 908 between the headset 110and the mobile computing device 900 is used to transfer proximity andusage state information of the headset 110 and/or user 112 to thereal-time communication and presence application 902, which formats theinformation in a manner suitable for communicating the information to acellular network 904, over a second wireless link 910, and ultimately tothe other system users via the Internet 906. While the real-timecommunication and presence application 902 on the mobile computingdevice 900 has been described as being adapted to communicate proximityand usage information of the headset 110 and/or user 112 to a cellularnetwork 904, those of ordinary skill in the art will readily appreciateand understand that the real-time communication and presence application902 may alternatively be adapted to communicate the proximity and usageinformation over other types of networks. For example, FIG. 9B shows howthe proximity and usage information of the headset 110 and/or user 112may be communicated to an IEEE 802.11 hotspot 912, which is adapted toforward the information to other system users via the Internet 906.

Referring now to FIG. 10, there is shown a flowchart illustrating anexemplary process 1000 by which the system 60 in FIG. 6 operates toupdate the proximity and usage record of the user 112, according to anembodiment of the present invention. While the exemplary process 1000below is described in the context of instant messaging, those ofordinary skill in the art will readily appreciate and understand thatthe process 1000 can be adapted and modified, without undueexperimentation, for use with other real-time communication types (e.g.,VoIP).

Prior to receiving an instruction to update the proximity and usagestate of the user 112, the process 1000 holds in an idle state. Once aninstruction is received to update the proximity and usage record of theuser 112 at step 1002, the update process commences. Triggering of theupdate instruction can occur automatically according to a predeterminedupdate schedule, manually (e.g., by the user 112), by a detected changein proximity of the headset 110 to the BS 610 (e.g., headset 110 comingwithin range or going out-of-range of the BS 610), by a detected changein usage state of the headset 110 (e.g., being plugged into or unpluggedfrom charging station, being picked up from or set down on a table orother surface, being donned or undonned), or by any other input orcondition characterizing the proximity or usage state of the headset110.

In response to the update instruction in step 1002, at decision 1004 itis determined whether a change in the presence status of the user 112involving a shift in presence has occurred compared to the lastproximity and usage record stored by the presence server 604. If “yes”,at step 1006 the real-time communication and presence application client608 reports the shifted status of the user 112 to the presence server604 to reflect the shift in presence of the user 112. Alternatively, asexplained above, shifted presence information received over the Internetfrom a cellular network or other wireless network may be used at step1006 to update the record. Next, at step 1008 the real-timecommunication, presence and LAN servers 602, 604, 600 use the updatedproximity and usage record to report an updated presence status of theuser 112 to other IM users that have the user 112 in their buddy list.The other updated presence status information is used by the real-timecommunication application clients executing on the other user'scomputers to generate a presence status indicator, which informs theother users that the user 112 is not currently available to respond toIMs on the client computer 606-1, yet may be contacted by some alternateform of communication (e.g., by cell phone).

If at decision 1004 it is determined that the user 112 has not shiftedpresence since the last proximity and usage record update, at decision1010 the real-time communication and presence application client 608 iscontacted to determine whether it has received informationcharacterizing a change in proximity of the headset 110 (e.g., goingout-of-range or coming within range of the BS 610) compared to the lastproximity record stored in the presence server 604. If “yes”, at step1012 the real-time communication and presence application client 608reports to the presence server 604 that there has been a change inproximity status of the headset 110 since the last recorded update, andthe presence server 604 uses the change in proximity information toupdate the proximity information of the proximity and usage recordaccordingly. If “no”, the proximity information of the most recentproximity and usage record is not changed, as indicated by step 1014.

Next, at decision 1016, the real-time communication and presenceapplication client 608 is contacted to determine whether a change in theusage state of the headset 110 has occurred since the last proximity andusage record update. (It should be mentioned here that the decisions1004, 1010 and 1016 can be performed in any order and need not beperformed in the same order as described here in this exemplaryembodiment.) If “yes”, meaning that the real-time communication andpresence application client 608 has detected that the user 112 hasdonned or undonned the headset 110, has set down the headset 110 afterhaving been carried, has picked up and started carrying the headset 110,has plugged the headset 110 into or unplugged the headset 110 from thecharging cradle 700, at step 1018 the real-time communication andpresence application client 608 reports the usage change to the presenceserver 604, which updates the usage information of the proximity andusage record of the user 112 accordingly. If “no”, meaning that nodetection in either the proximity or usage state of the headset 110 hasbeen detected since the last record update, the current proximity andusage record is maintained, as indicated by step 1020.

At step 1022 the real-time communication, presence and LAN servers 602,604, 600 use the maintained proximity and usage record (from step 1020)or the updated proximity and usage record (from step 1018) to report anupdated presence status of the user 112 to other IM users that have theuser 112 in their buddy list. Finally, the process returns to the idlestate to await a subsequent instruction to update the proximity andusage record of the user 112.

FIG. 11 is a flowchart illustrating an exemplary process 1100 by whichthe system 60 routes an incoming IM based on the most up-to-dateproximity and usage record of the user 112 stored on the presence server604, according to an embodiment of the present invention. While theexemplary process 1100 below is described in the context of instantmessaging, those of ordinary skill in the art will readily appreciateand understand that the process can be adapted and modified, withoutundue experimentation, for use with other real-time communication types(e.g., VoIP).

During an idle state in which the system 60 waits for an incoming IM,the process 1000 in FIG. 10 may be executed to ensure that the presenceserver has the most up-to-date proximity and usage record of the user112, and so that other IM users have the most up-to-date presence statusinformation of the user 112. The method 1100 holds in this idle stateuntil the system 60 receives an IM. Once the system 60 receives an IM atstep 1102, at step 1104 the presence server 602 is accessed to determinethe most up-to-date proximity and usage record of the user 112. Then, atdecision 1106 it is determined whether the proximity and usage recordindicates that the headset 110 is out-of-range or the user 112 is forsome reason not using the headset 110. The headset 110 may not be beingused for any number of reasons. For example, the headset 110 may beturned off, plugged into the charging cradle 700, sitting on a desk orother surface, or may be stored in a location that is not readilyaccessible by the user 112.

If at decision 1106 it is determined that the headset 110 is either notbeing used or is out-of-range of the BS 610, it is not determinablewhether the user 112 is available to respond to IMs at the clientcomputer 606-1. Although the availability of the user 112 isindeterminate in this state, other users may nevertheless send IMs tothe user 112 at the client computer 606-1, in case the user 112 happensto be stationed there. Accordingly, at step 1108 the real-timecommunication and presence application client 608 operates to displaythe IM on the display screen of the client computer 606-1. If the user112 happens to be stationed at the client computer 606-1, the user 112may then respond to the IM in a conventional manner. Accordingly, atdecision 1110 a determination is made as to whether the user 112 hasresponded to the IM. If “no”, the process returns to the idle state towait for subsequent IMs. If “yes”, meaning that the user 112 isavailable and willing to communicate, at step 1112 the IM initiator anduser 112 engage in an IM session. The IM session then continues until atdecision 1114 the IM session is determined to have been terminated byone of the IM participants. After the IM session is terminated, theprocess returns to the idle state to wait for subsequent IMs.

If at decision 1106 it is determined that most up-to-date proximity andusage record indicates that the headset 110 is not out-of-range of theBS 610 and is being used by the user 112 (or is at least readilyaccessible by the user 112), at decision 1116 the most up-to-dateproximity and usage record is analyzed to determine whether the headsetis donned or being carried by the user 112. If the record indicates thatthe headset 110 is donned or being carried by the user 112, at step 1118the real-time communication and presence application client 608 sends analert signal to the proximity and usage application in the headset 110,via the wireless link 612. The alert signal causes the headset 110 tovibrate, generate an audible tone, generate some other user-sensiblesignal, and/or provide some indication of the identity of the IMinitiator to the user 112. According to one embodiment the identity ofthe IM initiator and/or the IM are converted to speech by thetext-to-speech converter 609. The speech converted information is thentransmitted over the wireless link 612 to the headset 110, in lieu of(or in combination with) the alert signal. This allows the user 112 tohear the identity of the IM initiator and/or listen to the speechconverted IM. According to another embodiment, the headset 110 isequipped with a small display screen configured to display the identityof the IM initiator and/or the IM. The display information can becombined with either or both the audible information and alert signal.The user 112 can then use the alert signal, audible and/or visualinformation to determine whether to respond to the IM.

Next, at decision 1120 it is determined whether the user 112 has decidedto ignore the incoming IM. If “yes”, the process returns to the idlestate to await subsequent IMs. On the other hand, if the user 112 hasdecided to respond to the IM, the user 112 may either respond by typingtext through the keyboard attached to the client computer 606-1 (i.e.,in a conventional manner) or may don the headset 110 (if it hasn'talready been donned) at step 1122. In accordance with the latterapproach, IMs received from the IM initiator are first converted tospeech by the text-to-speech converter 609 before they are sent to theheadset 110. The user 112 responds to the IMs by talking into amicrophone in the headset 110. These voice signals are transmitted by anRF transmitter in the headset 110 to the BS 610 and down-converted forprocessing by the real-time communication and presence applicationclient 608. Voice recognition software on the client computer 606-1 oron one of the servers of the system 60 then converts the voice encodedsignals to a text-formatted IM, which is forwarded by the real-timecommunication server 602 back to the IM initiator. The IM participantscontinue to engage in the IM session in this manner, as indicated bystep 1112 until at decision 1114 it is determined that the IM sessionhas been terminated. After the session is terminated the process 1100returns to the idle state to wait for receipt of subsequent IMs.

If at decision 1116 it is determined that the headset is neither donnedor being carried by the user 112, the IM is displayed on the computerscreen of the client computer 606-1 and/or an alert signal, similar tothat described in step 1118 above, is sent to the headset 110, in anattempt to notify the user 112 of the incoming IM. The user 112 may thenrespond to the IM and engage in an IM session in a conventional manner(as shown in FIG. 11), or the user 112 may don the headset and engage inan IM session using voice in a manner similar to that described in theprevious paragraph.

While the processes in FIGS. 10 and 11 have been described in thecontext of the client-server-based headset-derived presence andcommunication system in FIG. 6, those of ordinary skill in the art willreadily appreciate and understand that the methods can be easilyadapted, without undue experimentation, to operate in the context of the“stand-alone” embodiments shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, as well as in themulti-cell and mobile computing device embodiments shown in FIGS. 8 and9.

Further, whereas the presence server 604 in the exemplary embodimentshas been described as providing the presence status of a user to othersystem users who wish to initiate a one-on-one real-time communicationsession, the presence server 604 may also be configured to perform othertasks. For example, the presence server 604 may be configured to performpresence initiated conferencing. According to this aspect of theinvention, the presence server 604 continually monitors the presencestates of the system's various users. When the presence server 604determines that specified users scheduled to participate in a conferencecall are all available, the presence server 604 instructs the system tosend a user-sensible alert to the scheduled participants' headsets,telephones (desk phone or mobile phone), or PCs. This aspect of theinvention is particularly useful in business environments where oftentimes urgent matters must be resolved as soon as specified persons areavailable to participate. Another benefit of this aspect of theinvention is that it does not require users to manually adjust theirpresence status, which can be difficult to do in a work environmentwhere a user's presence status often changes multiple times throughoutthe day. Instead, the intelligent headset of the present invention maybe relied on to automatically feed changes in the presence status ofusers to the presence server 604 in real time. As soon as all requiredparticipants are detected as being available, the presence server 604instructs the system to initiate the conference call. In situationswhere a required user is determined to be not yet available for theconference call (for example, perhaps they are in another meeting), thesystem can send a user-sensible signal (e.g., a tone, visual display ofan urgent message, etc.) to the headset's of the currently unavailableuser, to indicate that an urgent matter has arisen, which requires theuser's immediate attention. In response to the user-sensible signal, theneeded participant may then change their presence status (e.g. by way ofa control signal sent from a switch or button on the user's headset,voice activation, etc.), thereby indicating to the presence server 604that the user is now available to participate in the conference call.

According to another embodiment of the invention, the intelligentheadset 110 of the present invention may be configured to provide a“secure presence” function. According to this embodiment of theinvention, a user's headset is used as a “key” or an authenticationmeans for automatically unlocking the user's PC when the user arrives attheir PC after being away for some time. Authentication may be performedat the application data or device level and avoids the need for havingto enter Ctl+Alt+Del and password. This aspect of the invention isadvantageous in that it prevents pretexting (e.g., a user masqueradingas a legitimate user), and prevents unauthorized access to applicationsand data on the PC. To prevent accidental and/or unauthorized use of theheadset to gain access to applications and data, the headset can beequipped with a biometric authentication device (e.g., a fingerprintreading device or voice authentication subsystem). The biometricauthenticator ensures that the person using the headset is actually theperson that the headset belongs to.

In general, the methods described above, including the processesperformed by the real-time communication and presence application 102,real-time communication and presence application client 608, real-timecommunication server 602, presence server 604, LAN server 600,text-to-speech converter, voice recognition, and proximity and usageapplication in the headset 110 are performed by software routinesexecuting in a computer system. The routines may be implemented by anynumber of computer programming languages such as, for example, C, C++,Pascal, FORTRAN, assembly language, etc. Further, various programmingapproaches such as procedural, object-oriented or artificialintelligence techniques may be employed. As is understood by those ofordinary skill in the art, the program code corresponding to the methodsand processes described herein may be stored on a computer-readablemedium. Depending on each particular implementation, computer-readablemedia suitable for this purpose may include, without limitation, floppydiskettes, compact disks (CDs), hard drives, network drives, randomaccess memory (RAM), read only memory (ROM) and flash memory.

Although the present invention has been described with reference tospecific embodiments thereof, these embodiments are merely illustrative,and not restrictive of, the present invention. Various modifications orchanges to the specifically disclosed exemplary embodiments will besuggested to persons skilled in the art. For example, whereas theintelligent headset has been shown and described as comprising abinaural headset having a headset top that fits over a user's head,other headset types including, without limitation, monaural,earbud-type, canal-phone type, etc. may also be used. Depending on theapplication, the various types of headsets may include or not include amicrophone for providing two-communications. Additionally, whereas thereal-time communication server, presence server and text-to-speechconverter software are shown in FIG. 6 as being installed on separateserver computers, in alternative embodiments one or more of theseprograms may be configured to execute on a single server computer orintegrated in part or in full with the presence application client 608.One or more of the client, server and stand-alone programs may also beweb-based, in which case a web server may be included in theclient-server network shown in FIG. 6, or on one or more other webservers accessible over the Internet may be employed.

Still further, whereas some of the exemplary embodiments have beendescribed in the context of instant messaging, those of ordinary skillin the art will readily appreciate and understand that the methods,system and apparatus of the invention may be adapted or modified,without undue experimentation, to work with other types of “instant” or“real-time” communications. For example, the systems, methods andapparatus of the present invention may be employed to send, receive andrespond to VoIP communications, in a manner similar to that describedabove in the context of instant messaging. Finally, while the exemplaryembodiments have been described in terms of deriving proximity andpresence information from a headset, other communications devices mayalternatively be used for these purposes. For example, a PDA,smartphone, cellphone, or any other stationary or mobile communicationdevice capable of communicating in real time may be adapted to performthe various functions described in the exemplary embodiments describedabove. For at least these reasons, therefore, the scope of the inventionshould not be restricted to the specific exemplary embodiments disclosedherein, and all modifications that are readily suggested to those ofordinary skill in the art should be included within the spirit andpurview of this application and scope of the appended claims.

Referring now to FIG. 12, digital messaging system 12-10 may processtext based digital instant communications, to or from caller 12-16, suchas instant messages (IMs), which may be sent via system 12-12 and speechbased digital instant communications, such as VoIP calls and messages,which may be sent via system 12-14. Communications on systems 12-12 and12-14 may be sent via the Internet or other networks 12-16 to user 12-20via various computer and communications systems such as desk topcomputer 12-22, laptop computer 12-24, and/or wireless headset 12-28.VoIP calls may be directed to desk phone 12-42. Headset 12-28 may bewirelessly connected to networks 12-16, and/or via an intermediarydevice associated with user 12-20 such as computers 12-22 or 12-24 viawireless headset base station 12-30 which communicates with headset12-28 via wireless connection 12-32. Wireless headset 12-38 may also beconnected to networks 12-16 via cell phone 12-26. Headset docking and/orcharging station 12-34 may be used for storing headset 12-28 and/orcharging the batteries in wireless headset 12-28.

User 12-20's computers 12-22 and/or 12-24 have systems, such as softwareprograms, which respond to and interact with systems 12-12 and 12-14.Presence system 12-36 interacts with digital instant messages fromcaller 12-18 and monitors one or more conditions related to wirelessheadset 12-28, for example by monitoring headset sensor 12-38 or otherdevices such as RFID 12-48, GPS 12-46, proximity detector 12-44 and/orbase station or docking station 12-34 or other devices as convenient.Information or data from headset sensor 12-38 may be provided viawireless link 12-32 to presence system 12-36 via a computer such as12-22 in which presence system 12-36 may be implemented as anapplication. System 12-36 may also run on a server, not shown.

As described below in greater detail, presence system 12-36 mayestimate, from the monitored condition, a potential for user 12-20 toreceive and immediately respond to a digital instant communication fromcaller 12-18 which may be directed to anyone of several devicesaccessible to user 12-20 for example in his normal workspace such asuser's office 12-40 cell, including computer's 12-22, 12-24, cell phone12-26 and desk phone 12-42. Some of these devices such as notebookcomputer 12-22 and/or cell phone 12-26 may also be accessible to user12-20 outside of user's office 12-40 as shown in FIG. 12.

The monitored condition may indicate a current condition or a recentaction of user 12-20 which may have been to don the headset by puttingit on, doff the headset by taking it off, dock the headset by applyingit to docking or charging station 12-34, move while wearing the headset,e.g. out of office 12-40 and/or carry the headset. The differencebetween a current condition or a recent action may be useful indetermining the estimated potential described below. The monitoredcondition may indicate a likely current relationship, such as proximity,between user 12-20 and headset 12-38, which may be detected by headsetsensor 12-38 which may detect a characteristic of user 12-20 such asbody temperature.

The monitored condition may also be related to proximity between theheadset and a communicating device associated with user 12-20 at thattime for receiving and transmitting digital instant communications, suchas notebook computer 12-24 and/or cell phone 12-26 which may be with ornear user 12-20 for example, when out of the office 12-40 as shown inFIG. 12. Proximity may be detected by headset sensor 12-38 or bycomparison of various location based systems as discussed in more detailbelow or any other proximity detection scheme illustrated by proximitydetector 12-44 which may for example monitor communications betweenwireless headset 12-38 and cell phone 12-26 to detect proximity therebetween.

The monitored condition may be related to proximity of the headset toone or more locations. For example, headset sensor may include a GPSreceiver and another GPS or other location based information system,such as GPS system 12-46, may be used to determine that user 12-20 is inor near a specific location such as a hallway, office, conference roomor bathroom. Other systems which use the strength, timing or coding ofreceived signals transmitted between headset 12-28 and known locationscan also be used. Similarly, RFID system 12-48 in which aninterrogatable tag is located at a known location or on headset 12-28may also be used.

Presence system 12-36 may estimate from the monitored condition apotential for user 12-20 to receive and immediately respond to a digitalinstant message from caller 12-18 transmitted by text or speech baseddigital instant communication systems 12-12 and 12-14. These estimatesmay be based on rule based information applied to the monitoredcondition, e.g. various levels for the potential for user 12-28 may bedetermined by rules applied to one or monitored headset conditions. Thatis, the potential may be different for the same location depending onwhether the user has donned, doffed or docked the headset or is movingwhile wearing or carrying the phone and or whether the user had done sorecently. As one example, user 12-20 may have a low potential forreceiving and immediately responding to a digital instant message evenif carrying headset 12-28 while in a supervisor's office or even whenheadset 12-28 is donned while in an elevator, while having a highpotential while proximate docking station 12-34 even when headset 12-28is docked.

The potential may include an estimate of the user's presence,availability and/or willingness to receive and immediately respond to adigital instant message from caller 12-18 based on the identification ofthe caller or an estimate that the user may (or may not be) willing todo so while in his supervisor's office or in a boardroom. The estimatemay be made in response to receipt of a text or speech based digitalinstant communication by cell phone 12-26, desktop computer 12-22,notebook computer 12-24, desk phone 12-42 or any other equipmentassociated with the user such as an office computer server or similarequipment. The estimate may also be made before the communication isreceived, for example, on a continuous or periodic basis.

In operation, for example if user 12-20 is out of office 12-40 butproximate cell phone 12-26 or notebook computer 12-24, an incomingdigital instant communication received from networks 12-16 may beautomatically directed to user 12-20 via wireless headset 12-28 if theestimated potential for user 12-20 to receive and immediately respond tothe incoming communication indicates that the user is likely toimmediately respond to the communication.

As one specific example, caller 12-18 may send an instant message (IM)to user 12-20 received by desktop computer 12-22 asking “R U THERE”which may be automatically directed to wireless headset 12-28 inaccordance with the estimated potential even if the user is out ofoffice 12-40 and without cell phone 12-26 or notebook computer 12-24.Presence system 12-36, or another appropriate system, may provide anaudible message to the user from text associated with the incomingdigital instant communication, for example, by converting the text basedmessage to an audible speech message “Are you there?” which may beprovided to user 12-20 via wireless headset 12-28 if the estimatedpotential is that user 12-20 is likely to immediately respond.

User 12-20 may respond by speaking a command phrase such as “Not now”which may be provided as an outgoing message, such as a reply IM tocaller 12-18 which may be “Not now but I'll call you as soon as I'mavailable”. Similarly, user 12-20 may speak the command “3 pm” which maythen be included in the reply IM as “Call me back at 3 p.m.”

Alternately, if when the “R U THERE” IM is received by communicationsequipment associated with user 12-20 when the estimated potential isthat user 12-20 is likely to immediately respond but the headsetcondition indicates that user 12-20 is not currently wearing the headset12-28 while remaining proximate headset 12-28, a signal may be providedto the headset, such as a tone or prerecorded message or flashing lightor other signal indicating current receipt of an incoming digitalinstant message. The signal may be perceptible to user 12-20 even ifuser 12-20 is not wearing headset 12-28. The estimated potential mayinclude the information that user 12-20 is not wearing headset 12-28 butis proximate thereto.

If user 12-20 decides to respond to the incoming digital instantcommunication by immediately engaging caller 12-18 in a conversation,user 12-20 may respond to the “R U THERE” IM by speaking or otherwiseissuing a command such as “Pick Up” which causes a bidirectional voicecommunication channel, such as a VoIP channel or a standard telephonecall via desk phone 12-42 to be opened between caller 12-18 and user12-20 via wireless headset 12-28.

FIG. 12A illustrates a diagram of a presence and communication system inone example of the invention, in which presence information is deliveredover a landline network such as the public switched telephone network(PSTN). While the term “presence” has various meanings and connotations,the term “presence” is used in the following examples to refer to auser's willingness, availability and/or unavailability to participate inreal-time communications and/or means by which the user is currentlycapable or incapable of engaging in real-time communications. The termpresence information (also referred to herein as “presence data”) mayalso refer to the underlying usage characteristics or proximity locationused to derive a user's willingness, availability and/or unavailabilityto participate in real-time communications and/or means by which theuser is currently capable or incapable of engaging in real-timecommunications

The presence and communication system includes a base station withpresence application 1210 having a presence application installedthereon. The base station with presence application 1210 (herein afteralso referred to simply as base station 1210) is coupled to a publicswitched telephone network (PSTN) 1206. The base station 1210 is capableof wireless communication with one or more wireless devices. In theexample illustrated in FIG. 12A, the base station 1210 communicates witha cordless phone handset 1218, cordless phone handset 1208, and wirelessheadset 1216. Cordless phone handset 1218 may be used with a wirelessheadset 1220. The term “cordless” is used synonymously with the term“wireless” herein. Fewer or additional devices may communicate with thebase station 1210. The base station 1210 is accessible through the PSTN1206 by either landline telephones or cellular telephones. In theexample illustrated in FIG. 12A, a cellular telephone 1205, telephone1202, or telephone 1204 may connect to the base station 1210.

FIGS. 13A and 13B illustrate simplified block diagrams of the hardwareand software components, respectively, of base station 1210 in oneexample of the invention. Base station 1210 includes a PSTN interface1302 for coupling to PSTN 1206, an application processor 1306, a userinterface 1304, and radio 1308 capable of communication with one or morewireless devices. Referring to FIG. 13B, base station 1210 includes aDTMF decoder module 1310, voice prompt generator module 1312, presenceapplication 1314, and base station control module 1316.

The presence application 1314 receives and processes presenceinformation from one or more wireless devices. The presence application1314 includes a presence monitoring program adapted to receive andprocess presence information associated with the one or more wirelessheadsets or telephones, and a caller interaction program forcommunicating a plurality of user selectable options associated with thepresence information to a far end caller over the PSTN and responsivelyreceiving and processing a far end caller selected option. In oneexample, the presence application 1314 receives proximity and usagecharacteristics of the one or more wireless headsets or telephones. Foreach wireless headset or telephone, the presence monitoring programstores the proximity and usage characteristic information in anupdatable proximity and usage record. The presence application 1314 usesthe proximity and usage characteristic record to generate presenceinformation about a user. This generated presence information is used bythe caller interaction program to provide a far end caller with aplurality of user selectable options associated with the presenceinformation to a far end caller over the PSTN. In one example, thecaller interaction program generates a plurality of voice prompts.

In one example, the base station with presence application 1314 operatesas a “presence server” in the manner described above in reference toFIG. 6. The presence server is configured to store an updatable recordof the proximity and usage state of the wireless headset 1216, cordlessphone handset 1208, cordless phone handset 1218, or wireless headset1220. The presence server uses the proximity and usage state record togenerate and report presence information of the users of these devicesor a “shift” in presence status of the user. For example, presenceinformation may be reported that a user has shifted from using thewireless headset to using an alternate mode of communicating.

In operation, voice prompt generator module 1312 outputs voice promptsto callers. For example, such voice prompts include presence informationpresented in a menu of options selectable by the caller using DTMF orvoice response. DTMF decoder module 1310 decodes DTMF signalscorresponding to user selections at the user telephone. In a furtherexample, base station 1210 includes a voice recognition module foridentifying a user voice response.

FIGS. 14A and 14B illustrate simplified block diagrams of the hardwareand software components respectively of the cordless phone handset 1218in one example of the invention. Cordless phone handset 1218 includes anapplication processor 1402, user interface 1404, presence sensors 1406,cordless phone electronics 1408, base radio 1410, and optional headsetradio 1412. Presence sensors 1406 may include sensors or detectors suchas motion detectors or other sensors or detectors described herein. Forexample, these various types of sensors and detectors can be employed todetermine whether the handset is being carried or is stationary.

Base radio 1410 transmits presence information and user communicationsto base station 1210. Optional headset radio 1412 receives presenceinformation and communications from a wireless headset, as describedbelow in reference to FIGS. 15A and 15B. Referring to FIG. 14B, cordlessphone handset 1218 includes a presence sampling and reporting module1420, control module 1422, and user interface 1424. Presence samplingand reporting module utilizes presence sensors 1406 to gather presenceinformation. Cordless phone handset 1218 transmits presence informationfor both cordless phone handset 1218 and wireless headset 1220 to thebase station.

FIGS. 15A and 15B illustrate a simplified block diagram of the hardwareand software components, respectively of a wireless headset 1220, inwhich the wireless headset is in communication with a cordless phonehandset 1218. Wireless headset 1220 includes an application processor1502, presence sensors 1504, headset electronics 1506, handset radio1508, and user interface 1510. Presence sensors 1504 include sensorssuch as motion detectors as described herein above as described hereinabove. For example, these sensors or detectors can be employed todetermine whether the wireless headset 1220 is donned or doffed andwhether the headset is being carried. For example, an accelerometer,such as that described in FIG. 3 above, may be used to determine whetherthe wireless headset 1220 is being carried. The accelerometer mayconsist of a mass affixed to a piezoelectric crystal. Other motiondetection techniques may also be used for this purpose, and include forexample, a magnet and a coil moving relative to one another.

Techniques that can be used to determine whether the headset is donnedor doffed include, but are not limited to, utilizing one or more of thefollowing sensors or detectors integrated in the wireless headset 1220and/or disposed on or within one or more of the headphones of thewireless headset 1220: a thermal or infrared sensor, skin resistancesensor, capacitive touch sensor or circuit, micro-switch, inductiveproximity sensor or switch, pyroelectric sensor, magnetic sensor,piezoelectric-based sensor, and motion detector. Further detailsregarding these sensors and detectors can be found in the commonlyassigned and co-pending U.S. patent application entitled “Donned andDoffed Headset State Detection” (Attorney Docket No.: 01-7308), whichwas filed on Oct. 2, 2006, and which is hereby incorporated into thisdisclosure by reference

Referring to FIG. 15B, wireless headset 1220 includes presence samplingand reporting module 1512, headset control module 1514, and userinterface module 1516. Presence sampling and reporting module 1512utilizes presence sensors 1504 to gather presence data. The presencedata is sent to cordless phone handset 1218 using handset radio 1508.

FIG. 16 illustrates a simplified block diagram of the hardwarecomponents of a wireless headset 1216 in one example of the invention,in which the wireless headset 1216 is in direct communication with abase station 1210. Wireless headset 1216 includes an applicationprocessor 1602, presence sensors 1604, user interface 1606, base radio1608, and headset electronics 1610. Operation of wireless headset 1216is similar to that of wireless headset 1220, with the exception thatbase radio 1608 communicates presence information to base station 1210.

Referring again to FIG. 12A, in operation, usage characteristics andproximity information of cordless phone handset 1218, cordless phonehandset 1208, wireless handset 1216, and wireless headset 1220 aretransmitted to or derived at the base station 1210. Gathering of theusage characteristics and proximity information is performed using thetechniques described herein above. Such usage characteristics andproximity information include, but are not limited to whether the one ormore wireless headsets or telephones are donned or doffed, are in acharging station, or are being carried but not worn. In one example,proximity information is determined by measuring strengths of signalsreceived by the one or more wireless headsets or telephones. Proximityinformation may be related to a proximity between the one or morewireless headsets or telephones and a near end user, related to theproximity between the one or more wireless headsets or telephones to thebase station, or related to the proximity between the one or morewireless headsets or telephones to one or more known locations.

Additional presence information may be derived or generated from theusage characteristics and proximity information. Such additionalpresence information may include, for example, whether the user isavailable to receive a text message or is available to receive atelephone call.

The presence information is communicated to a caller at a telephone 1202or telephone 1204 over PSTN 1206 by the base station 1210. Presenceinformation may also be communicated to a caller at a cellular telephone1205 over PSTN 1206 and cellular network 1224. In one example, thepresence information is output in the form of user selectable optionsusing a series of generated voice prompts. Base station 1210 receives auser selection via DMTF responsive to the communicated presenceinformation, and performs the user selected option. For example, thebase station 1210 may route a telephone call to a user selected wirelessheadset or cordless handset responsive to receiving the user selectedoption.

FIGS. 16 and 17B are a flowchart illustrating an exemplary process bywhich the system in FIG. 12A operates to gather and deliver presenceinformation over a public switched telephone network (PSTN), inaccordance with an embodiment of the present invention. At block 1700,presence data from one or more communication devices is received. Atblock 1702, the presence data is processed and stored. For example, thepresence data received may be in the form of usage and proximity datawhich is further processed to generate additional presence information.At block 1704, a telephone call is received from a PSTN caller. At block1706, an options menu is output to the PSTN caller. At block 1708, aPSTN caller selection is received via a DTMF signal. At decision block1710, it is determined whether the PSTN caller selected to receivepresence data. If no, the process proceeds to the selected menu option.For example, the PSTN caller may be directed to voicemail. If yes atdecision block 1710, presence data is output to the PSTN caller usingvoice prompts. For example, the presence data may include which usersare available. At block 1714, the PSTN caller selection is received viaa DTMF signal. At block 1716, the call is routed to the selected deviceresponsive to the PSTN caller selection.

FIG. 18 illustrates a usage state in which a first user's phone andheadset are not worn and a second user's phone and headset are worn, inaccordance with an aspect of the invention. A caller 1802 calls a basestation with presence server 1806 via PSTN 1804. The base station withpresence server 1806 receives and processes presence information about auser 1808 (Mary), where Mary has a wireless headset 1810 and cordlessphone 1812. The base station with presence server 1806 also receives andprocesses presence information abut a user (Jack) having a cordlessphone 1814 and wireless headset (not shown). In the example shown inFIG. 18, the base station with presence server 1806 outputs a voiceprompt to caller 1802 to “Press ‘6’ if you want to know who isavailable”. If caller 1802 presses ‘6’, then base station with presenceserver 1806 outputs presence information to caller 1802 in the form of avoice prompt “Jack is home, but does not want to be disturbed. Mary isavailable. Press “1” to contact her. Otherwise press ‘0’ to leave amessage”.

FIG. 19 illustrates a diagram of a presence and communication system inone example of the invention, in which presence information is deliveredover a cellular network. The presence and communication system includesa cell phone or PDA with presence application 1906. The cell phone orPDA with presence application 1906 (hereinafter referred to as “cellphone or PDA 1906”) may operate as a presence server as describedherein. The cell phone or PDA 1906 is coupled to a cellular network1904. The cell phone or PDA 1906 is capable of wireless communicationwith a wireless headset 1908. In the example illustrated in FIG. 19, acellular telephone 1902 connects to the cell phone or PDA 1906.

FIGS. 20A and 20B illustrate a simplified block diagram of the hardwareand software components respectively of a cell phone or PDA 1906 in oneexample of the invention, in which the cell phone or PDA 1906 utilizespresence sensors.

Cell Phone or PDA 1906 includes a cellular interface 2002 for couplingto cellular network 1904, an application processor 2000, a userinterface 2008, and headset radio 2006 capable of communication with awireless headset. Referring to FIG. 20B, Cell Phone or PDA 1906 includesa presence sample/reporting module 2010, DTMF decoder module 2012, voiceprompt generator module 2014, presence application 2016, and cellularinterface and application module 2018.

The presence application 2016 receives and processes presenceinformation from a wireless headset and/or information from the cellularphone or PDA 1906 itself. The presence application 2016 includes apresence monitoring program adapted to receive and process presenceinformation associated with the wireless headset or the cellular phoneor PDA 1906, and a caller interaction program for communicating aplurality of user selectable options associated with the presenceinformation to a far end caller over the cellular network andresponsively receiving and processing a far end caller selected option.In one example, the presence application 2016 receives proximity andusage characteristics of the wireless headset or cellular phone or PDA1906. For the wireless headset or cellular phone or PDA 1906, thepresence monitoring program stores the proximity and usagecharacteristic information in an updatable proximity and usage record.The presence application 2016 uses the proximity and usagecharacteristic record to generate presence information about a user.This generated presence information is used by the caller interactionprogram to provide a far end caller with a plurality of user selectableoptions associated with the presence information to a far end callerover the cellular network. In one example, the caller interactionprogram generates a plurality of voice prompts.

In one example, the cell phone or PDA 1906 operates as a “presenceserver” in the manner described above in reference to FIG. 6. Thepresence server is configured to store an updatable record of theproximity and usage state of the wireless headset 1908 and cell phone orPDA 1906. The presence server uses the proximity and usage state recordto generate and report presence information of the users of thesedevices or a “shift” in presence status of the user. In operation, voiceprompt generator module 2014 outputs voice prompts to callers. Forexample, such voice prompts include presence information presented in amenu of options selectable by the caller using DTMF or voice response.DTMF decoder module 2012 decodes DTMF signals corresponding to userselections at the user telephone. In a further example, cell phone orPDA 1906 includes a voice recognition module for identifying a uservoice response.

FIGS. 21A and 21B illustrate simplified block diagrams of the hardwareand software components respectively of a wireless headset 1908, inwhich the wireless headset is in communication with a cell phone or PDA.Wireless headset 1908 includes an application processor 2102, presencesensors 2104, headset electronics 2106, radio 2108, and user interface2110. Presence sensors 2104 include sensors or detectors as describedabove in reference to wireless headset 1220.

Referring to FIG. 21B, wireless headset 1908 includes presence samplingand reporting module 2112, headset control module 2114, and userinterface module 2116. Presence sampling and reporting module 2112utilizes presence sensors 2104 to gather presence data. The presencedata is sent to cell phone or PDA 1906 using radio 2108.

Referring again to FIG. 19, presence information is communicated to acaller at cellular telephone 1902 over cellular network 1904 by the cellphone or PDA 1906. In one example, the presence information is output inthe form of user selectable options using a series of generated voiceprompts. Cell phone or PDA 1906 receives a user selection via DMTFresponsive to the communicated presence information, and performs theuser selected option. For example, the cell phone or PDA 1906 may routea telephone call to a user selected wireless headset 1908 responsive toreceiving the user selected option.

FIGS. 22A and 22B are a flowchart illustrating an exemplary process bywhich the system in FIG. 19 operates to gather and deliver presenceinformation over a cellular network, in accordance with an embodiment ofthe present invention.

At block 2200, presence data from either an associated wireless headsetor the cell phone or PDA itself is received. At block 2202, the presencedata is processed and stored. For example, the presence data receivedmay be in the form of usage and proximity data which is furtherprocessed to generate additional presence information. At block 2204, atelephone call is received from a cellular network caller. At block2206, an options menu is output to the cellular network caller. At block2208, a cellular network caller selection is received via a DTMF signal.At decision block 2210, it is determined whether the cellular networkcaller selected to receive presence data. If no, the process proceeds tothe selected menu option. For example, the cellular network caller maybe directed to voicemail. If yes at decision block 2210, presence datais output to the cellular network caller using voice prompts. Forexample, the presence data may include which users are available. Atblock 2214, the cellular network caller selection is received via a DTMFsignal. At block 2216, the call is routed to the selected deviceresponsive to the cellular network caller selection.

FIG. 23 illustrates a usage state in which a user is away from theuser's PDA and not available for instant messaging, but is wearing hisheadset, in accordance with an aspect of the invention. A caller 2302calls a PDA 2304 via a cellular network. The PDA 2304 receives andprocesses presence information about a user 2308 (Jack), where Jack hasa wireless headset 2306. In the example shown in FIG. 23, the PDA 2304outputs a voice prompt to caller 2302 to “Press ‘6’ if you want to knowJack's status”. If caller 2302 presses ‘6’, then PDA 2304 outputspresence information to caller 2302 in the form of a voice prompt “Jackis away from his PDA so instant text messaging is not available at thistime. He does have his headset on, but does not want the phone to ring.Press 1 to send an instant voice message. Press 2 to leave a voicemessage”. The caller 2302 could also be calling from a landline phone tothe cellular network for this embodiment of the invention.

FIGS. 24-27 illustrate various usage states in which a private branchexchange (PBX) or PBX-IP gateway are coupled to the PSTN, as istypically used in an office telecommunications environment. In theseusage states, presence information is delivered from a telephone baseunit connected to the PBX, the PBX directly, or from a computer networkvia a PBX-IP gateway to the PBX. In FIGS. 24-27, the user is showncalling from a cell phone. There is no reason that the call could not beplaced from a land-line as well.

FIG. 24 illustrates a usage state in which an office phone base stationwith presence server 2402 is connected to a PBX 2406. PBX 2406 isconnected to PSTN 2408. A caller 2414 calls an office phone base stationwith a presence server 2402 having a presence application via PSTN 1804and PBX 2406. The office phone base station with presence server 2402receives and processes presence information about a user 2410 (Mary),where Mary has a wireless headset 2412. The office phone base stationwith presence server 2402 may also receive and processes presenceinformation about additional users (not shown). In the example shown inFIG. 24, the office phone base station with presence server 2402 outputsa voice prompt to caller 2414 to “Press ‘6’ if you want to know Mary'savailability”. If caller 2414 presses ‘6’, then office phone basestation with presence server 2402 outputs presence information to caller2414 in the form of a voice prompt “Mary is in a meeting right now butwill accept instant messages from you”.

FIG. 25 illustrates a usage state in which an office phone base stationis connected to a PBX with a presence server 2506 having a presenceapplication. PBX with presence server 2506 is connected to PSTN 2508. Acaller 2514 calls an office phone base station 2502 with presence passthrough via PSTN 1804 and PBX with presence server 2506. The officephone base station 2502 receives and processes presence informationabout a user 2510 (Mary), where Mary has a wireless headset 2512. Thispresence information is sent to the presence server residing at PBX withpresence server 2506. The office phone base station 2502 may alsoreceive and processes presence information about additional users (notshown). PBX with presence server 2506 responds to DTMF requests andgenerates appropriate voice prompts. In the example shown in FIG. 25,the PBX with presence server 2506 outputs a voice prompt to caller 2514to “Press ‘6’ if you want to know Mary's availability”. If caller 2514presses ‘6’, then PBX with presence server 2506 outputs presenceinformation to caller 2514 in the form of a voice prompt “Mary is in ameeting right now but will accept instant messages from you”.

FIG. 26 illustrates a usage state in which an office access point isconnected to a PBX-IP gateway with presence server 2606 via an office IPnetwork 2604. PBX-IP gateway with presence server 2606 is connected toPSTN 2608. A presence server 2616 with a presence application is alsoconnected to Office IP network 2604. The presence server 2616 servesPBX-IP gateway with presence server 2606 with presence information. Acaller 2614 calls an office access point 2602 with presencecapabilities. The office access point 2602 receives presence informationabout a user 2610 (Mary), where Mary has a wireless headset 2612. Thispresence information is sent to the presence server 2616 connected toOffice IP network 2604. This presence information is then sent to thepresence server residing on PBX-IP gateway with presence server 2606.The presence server 2616 may also receive and processes presenceinformation about additional users (not shown). PBX-IP gateway withpresence server 2606 handles outside calls coming through PSTN 2608requesting presence information, and handles DTMF requests from caller2614 and voice prompt generation.

In the example shown in FIG. 26, the presence server 2606 outputs avoice prompt to caller 2614 to “Press ‘6’ if you want to know Mary'savailability”. If caller 2614 presses ‘6’, then presence server 2606outputs presence information to caller 2614 in the form of a voiceprompt “Mary is in a meeting right now but will accept instant messagesfrom you”. In FIG. 26, the PBX IP gateway handles the voice prompts andDTMF detection. The IP presences server provides the information thatthe PBX ships out. Furthermore, additional PBX office phones withpresence info can be attached directly to the gateway

FIG. 27 illustrates a usage state in which an office access point isconnected to a PBX-IP gateway 2706 via an office IP network 2704. PBX-IPgateway 2706 is connected to PSTN 2708. A presence server 2716 is alsoconnected to Office IP network 2704. The presence server 2716 servesPBX-IP gateway 2706 with presence information. A caller 2714 calls anoffice access point 2702 with presence capabilities. The office accesspoint 2702 receives presence information about a user 2710 (Mary), whereMary has a wireless headset 2712. This presence information is sent tothe presence server 2716 connected to Office IP network 2704. Thepresence server 2716 may also receive and processes presence informationabout additional users (not shown). Presence server 2716 handles outsidecalls coming through PBX-IP gateway 2706 requesting presenceinformation. Presence server 2716 handles DTMF requests from caller 2714and voice prompt generation. PBX-IP gateway 2706 acts to pass thepresence information between PSTN 2708 and the presence server 2716. Inthis example, the PBX-IP gateway may be referred to as “dumb” in that itdoes nothing but translate the format of the data, but the actualhandling of the DTMF digits and voice prompts are generated in thepresence server 2716. In the example shown in FIG. 27, the presenceserver 2716 outputs a voice prompt to caller 2714 to “Press ‘6’ if youwant to know Mary's availability”. If caller 2714 presses ‘6’, thenpresence server 2716 outputs presence information to caller 2714 in theform of a voice prompt “Mary is in a meeting right now but will acceptinstant messages from you”. In this configuration, additional officephones can be added to the PBX gateway, but it cannot handle presenceinformation from the phones.

The various examples described above are provided by way of illustrationonly and should not be construed to limit the invention. Based on theabove discussion and illustrations, those skilled in the art willreadily recognize that various modifications and changes may be made tothe present invention without strictly following the exemplaryembodiments and applications illustrated and described herein.Furthermore, the functionality associated with any blocks describedabove may be centralized or distributed. It is also understood that oneor more blocks of the headset may be performed by hardware, firmware orsoftware, or some combinations thereof. Such modifications and changesdo not depart from the true spirit and scope of the present inventionthat is set forth in the following claims.

While the exemplary embodiments of the present invention are describedand illustrated herein, it will be appreciated that they are merelyillustrative and that modifications can be made to these embodimentswithout departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. Thus, thescope of the invention is intended to be defined only in terms of thefollowing claims as may be amended, with each claim being expresslyincorporated into this Description of Specific Embodiments as anembodiment of the invention.

1.-26. (canceled)
 27. A method of reporting headset presencecharacteristics over a cellular communications network comprising:receiving and processing at a computing device a plurality of presenceinformation from a wireless headset and the computing device, whereinthe computing device is in a cellular communications network; receivinga telephone call at the computing device over the cellularcommunications network from a far end caller; outputting from thecomputing device a plurality of user selectable options associated withthe plurality of presence information to the far end caller; andreceiving a user selected option from the far end caller.
 28. The methodof claim 27, further comprising routing the telephone call to thecomputing device or the wireless headset responsive to receiving theuser selected option.
 29. The method of claim 27, wherein receiving auser selected option comprises receiving a DTMF signal sent from the farend caller.
 30. The method of claim 27, further comprising generating aplurality of voice prompts.
 31. The method of claim 27, wherein theplurality of presence information associated with the wireless headsetor the computing device comprises usage characteristics or proximityinformation of the wireless headset or the computing device.
 32. Themethod of claim 31, wherein the proximity information is determined bymeasuring strengths of signals received by the wireless headset or thecomputing device.
 33. The method of claim 31, wherein the usagecharacteristics comprise whether the wireless headset or computingdevice are donned or doffed, are in a charging station, or are beingcarried but not worn.
 34. The method of claim 27, wherein the wirelessheadset or the computing device comprises a motion detector. 35.-67.(canceled)